#from robin vol 1 issue 15

[6kate1bishop6]

obsessed with batman just going to tims house and waking him up in the middle of the night to tell him he figured out a clue

[dailycass-cain]

As promised many months ago to end this day, here's a 🧵of the insanity Cassandra Cain's "human" body can do due to what David Cain put her through (besides the two obvious ones of body language and various forms of killing he trained her in).

The best issue that showcases that is of course Batgirl Vol. 1 #14 where various government agencies look at the footage Cass got caught filmed in.

The first few pages are literally showcasing how inhuman, but still bordering on human she is due to what David Cain put her through.

This is always fully covered throughout Batgirl Volume 1 and is usually forgotten when writers and editors tend to have their job. Not saying any names or storylines of any RECENT kind where a WAR broke out in GOTHAM.

is still salty YES

We've seen Cass's speed all the time throughout the Puckett run. To just showcase the prior issue's bullet dodging or her issue of Tim (#18) be child's play (along with her taking several shots up close and dodging each one from a certain corrupt government bastard).

Nah the best example of Cass's true "speed" is in #34 facing the mob boss Ving and his gang.

Yeah, you're seeing that right she is faster than a freaking bullet. Surprising how SOME seem to forget that in other comics. 🙄

Something even Batgirls remembered (#15) when Cass was playing shogun dodge with Cluemaster who was trying to shoot her with a shotgun.

But what of Cassandra's strength? Just how strong is she really?

#19 where Cass is faced with the obstacle of three-inch quartz preventing her from escaping a gas chamber. So let's examine just how thick three-inch quartz is.

Well, let's google just that.

A SEVEN on the hardness scale. Further research says that it can only crack due to "extreme impacts" which wouldn't ya know:

As for her body itself, Batgirl/Ghost: The Ressurection Machine #3 suggests this about Cass being immune to A LOT of poisons:

Something Batgirl Vol. 1 "sort of" delves in #50 when both she and Bruce are doused with a new batch of super drug but it turns out they were both immune to it due to them being built differently than normal humans.

This is all the more surprising because a few issues prior to (#46) Cass is doused with a version of it, but you could say given what she "sees" Cass is under A LOT of stress (the building tension with Bruce, Babs breaking up with Dick, Superboy/Black Wind stuff). Plus she does "sort of" snap out of it to beat the bad guys in that issue.

Just like in #51 she avoids the pheromones to Poison Ivy even though she is showing signs of falling under the hormones but snaps out of it due to willpower (something Bruce was almost succumbing to before he fully snapped out of it too).

It really feels like "this anti-poison" ability Cass had was all but forgotten once the series ended. Of course, naturally with a certain "infamous" story ONE YEAR LATER, but also Batman & Robin Eternal as she is affected by Fear Toxin (among other stuff too).

#9 & #59 showcase that David Cain shot Cass regularly so much that she can not even feel it. This could explain also HOW she was eventually able to dodge bullets and become so fast.

#22 also showcases this as well so this is not something simply just randomly put in. This was something the writers wanted to show the sickening lengths David Cain put Cass through.

Again, #14 brought up Cass's metabolism and how off the charts it was. I think something we just overlooked is that in #26 Cass slept for 20 hours a day for four days (or perhaps longer) straight until she fully recovered from fighting Lady Shiva.

That's not even going under the amount of food she consumes. This little detail was first showcased in #39 when Cass ate like she was freaking Goku.

This little bit of detail was brought back in #66 when she ordered THREE burgers (I'm assuming with everything on it) with three sides of fries and a BIG milk.

Amusingly, this detail was recently brought back in Nightwing #106 & #108 where she FEASTED on who knows how many pancakes.

Lastly, I feel this bit is worth mentioning as well from #47 with Doctor Lewis Friedman who started the theory on body language that David Cain made a frightening reality with Cass (shame he was never brought up again after this issue).

All this isn't even counting on the extremely LONG hours of shower time Cass picked up in the Gabrych run that even Willingham's Robin (which went on during this) teased (something again Batgirls kept up on).

So there you have it. The utter anomaly that is the body of one Cassandra Cain.

[northoftheroad]

Has Dick ever attempted to kill Zucco? Because it's something I see very often being brought up in discussions about Dick Grayson. But in everything I've read, the only thing Dick has ever done to Zucco is bring him to justice with Batman's help after finding out he's who murdered his parents.

Hi, Indeed, the idea that little Dick was out for bloody vengeance is blown hugely out of proportion and it's tiresome to see it so widespread! As far as I know, he's never been out hunting for Zucco with the expressed intention to kill him.

(I might be late to the party because I saw that @farshootergotme recently made this point in two posts – definitely check them out (part 1 and part 2). But since I've been working on an answer, I'll press on.)

The original story (and later retellings of it) in Detective Comics # 38 (1940) had Dick intending to go to the police but Batman stopped him and said it would lead to Dick himself being killed because "the whole town is run by boss Zucco" (who was a big time boss at the time, he's been very much reduced in importance since).

Detective Comics # 38

In Batman Year Three (1989), right after the murder, Dick tells Batman to "Kill him for me". He's never out looking for Zucco, though, and by the time he's taken in by Bruce from the orphanage, he says it wouldn't change anything, he just wishes he "could do something so people like him couldn't hurt anyone ever again".

Batman vol 1 # 436 and 437

I think the angriest we've seen Dick is in Batman The Animated Series. I believe the BTAS episodes Robin's Reckoning (1993) started the trend of little Dick going out by himself (in different media, he has been looking for Zucco, running away from being mistreated, following Batman, and visited the circus).

In BTAS Zucco wasn't caught after the murder and little Dick was indeed out to look for Zucco, but nothing was said about killing him. He still becomes a pretty happy Robin in the show, but he does blow up when Zucco comes back to Gotham and Batman doesn't want Robin's help to look for him (because Batman was afraid that something would happen to Robin). There is a moment where Zucco (and the audience) is supposed to wonder whether Robin will let him drop a long way down, so this, I would argue, is the closest we'll ever see to Dick wanting to kill him. But this is Dick as a young adult who have lived with Zucco getting away, as opposed to comics.

BTAS Robin's Reckoning

In the Robin Annual # 4, Year One, (1995), where Dick is placed and mistreated at a youth centre, he runs away to get away – with no intention of looking for a criminal, just to save himself. He's still alone and miserable after Bruce has taken him in so he does go out one night to visit Haly circus, which is back in town. Haly is killed, Dick attacks the killers and has to be saved by Batman. Dick's internal thoughts in this book are about putting Zucco away (in prison), not killing.

Robin vol 2 Annual # 4

In The Choice in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #100 (1997), Dick does go out to look for the murderer, and Zucco dies of heart failure (or something like that), but Dick says he didn't want him to die. And in Dark Victory (1999–2000), Dick tells Batman he wants to help. However, Batman takes Dick with him to confront Zucco; Dick chases Zucco who (again) dies from medical issues, and Dick does not look triumphant.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #100 (The Choice)

Dark Victory

And in New 52, (Nightwing vol 3 # 0, 2012), 15-year-old Dick is indeed out looking for Zucco, because he feels it's his responsibility, and he starts to fight criminals together with Batman out on the streets. Again, nothing is said about wanting to kill Zucco. The Long Year in Secret Origins vol 3 # 1 (2014) has a slightly different version, but here too, Bruce and Dick only talk about catching Zucco.

Nightwing vol 3 # 0

Secret Origins vol 3 # 1 The Long Year

There are a few more versions of Dick's origin stories, but I think I've covered the ones most people know about. I'm not really familiar with the animated Teen Titans but, as far as I know, there is no mention of Tony Zucco here (since some people seem to think that Robin is actually Tim Drake, even though it's clearly based on New Teen Titans. And I believe there is a reference to the circus somewhere?).

Thanks for the ask! I have been writing snippets about the subject of fanon murder child Dick Grayson here and there, it was good to get a reason to collect my thoughts and panels once and for all.

[thequiver]

Who is.... Mia Dearden | Speedy? - A Reading Guide

Mia Dearden (Speedy) is the adopted daughter of Oliver Queen (Green Arrow)- she is introduced in the first arc Green Arrow (2001). Mia's backstory is the definition of tragedy, she's a CSA survivor, a runaway, a human trafficking survivor, and as a result of her childhood trauma has been diagnosed as HIV+. Mia is a loudmouth who will backtalk villains, family members, and anyone she encounters. She fought Oliver Queen for the chance to become Speedy, and took up the mantle of Speedy because her life means something to her and what she wants to do with it is help others.

Reading list under the cut!

The following is a list of Mia's appearances barring those in the N52. As always if multiple issues from a run are listed, only the first issue will be linked as the assumption is that you can navigate to the other issues yourself.

Green Arrow (2001) #2-6, 8-11, 13-15, 22, 27, 29-35, 37-43

Green Lantern Rebirth #1

Green Arrow (2001) #44-47

Teen Titans Vol. 3 #21

Green Arrow (2001) #48

Teen Titans Vol. 3 #22

Countdown to Infinite Crisis #11

Green Arrow (2001) #49

Teen Titans Vol. 3 #23

Green Arrow (2001) #50

Teen Titans Vol. 3 #24-25

Green Arrow (2001) #52

Outsiders Vol. 3 #25

Teen Titans Vol. 3 #26

Gotham Central #34

Green Arrow (2001) #55-56

Teen Titans Vol. 3 #30

Green Arrow (2001) #57

Teen Titans Vol. 3 #31-32

Infinite Crisis #4

Robin Vol. 2 #146

Battle for Blüdhaven #1 (I couldn't find a link for this one T.T)

Infinite Crisis #5

Teen Titans Vol. 3 Annual #1

Robin Vol. 2 #147

Teen Titans Vol. 3 #34

Infinite Crisis #7

52 #10

Green Arrow (2001) #64

Teen Titans Vol. 3 #38

Green Arrow (2001) #65-75

Black Canary Vol. 3 #2-4

Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding Special

Countdown to Final Crisis

Green Arrow/Black Canary #1-9

Birds of Prey Vol. 1 #119

Green Arrow/Black Canary #10-14

Final Crisis #6

Birds of Prey Vol. 1 #124

Green Arrow/Black Canary #15

Teen Titans Vol. 3 #66

Green Arrow/Black Canary #24-26

Titans Vol. 2 #19

Green Arrow/Black Canary #27-29

Cry for Justice #7

Green Arrow/Black Canary #30

Rise of Arsenal #1

Green Arrow/Black Canary #31

Rise of Arsenal #2

Green Arrow/Black Canary #32

Teen Titans Vol. 3 #99-100

[heroesriseandfall]

I think Jason and Tim may have canonically been in the same school grade before Jason died. Not because Tim skipped any grades, but because Jason was behind two grades. This would also mean Jason died before he ever made it into high school.

Based on what I have extrapolated from post-Crisis comics, this seems like a working timeline:

Here is a calendar view with arbitrarily chosen years and other details added in for reference (if you can’t see it very well, here’s the spreadsheet)

Below is the math + sources (all based on post-Crisis comics)

Before being adopted by Bruce, Batman #410 says Jason was a 5th grade dropout

(sidenote: Jason said his mom was sick for over a year and she died in the most recent February before Bruce met Jason in Batman #408-409)

By the time of Batman Annual 12 (published only a few months before Jason died)*, Jason was in 7th grade

His deathdate is given as April 27th in Batman Annual 25 and The Batman Files, which is during the school year

So he was probably in 7th grade when he died

Jason was most likely 14** when he died, and his Aug 16 birthday is before the New Jersey cut-off date of October 1st

Tim was most likely 12 when Jason died, since they’re almost exactly 2 years apart

Usually, 7th graders are 12-13 years old

So Jason was 2 years older than typical for 7th grade, and he is 2 years older than Tim

Tim started 9th grade/high school at age 14 (Robin II: Joker's Wild), over a year after Jason's death

14-15 is typical starting age for 9th grade, so Tim is clearly in the usual age-range for his grade

So Tim would be in 7th grade when Jason died. Same as Jason.

* Publishing dates don’t always match up with where things fit in a timeline. Especially since annuals aren’t always clearly positioned in related to the rest of the comic’s issues. In the annual, Jason does mention KGBeast, who he’d fought recently in the then-current Batman run.

My default is to presume things are meant to be set generally near other comics published the same time unless I see an indication otherwise. There isn’t much indication here—Jason’s age really isn’t mentioned at all during his actual run as Robin IIRC, we have to extrapolate from later comics.

**My reasons for Jason being 14 and Tim being 12 when he dies are long and complicated, but for a brief overview:

We know they’re almost exactly two years apart because Jason turned 18 on Aug 16th in Detective Comics #790, and just a while before that, Tim had turned 16 on July 19th in Robin Vol. 2 #116. That would make them around 1 year 11 months apart. The death certificate in The Batman Files says Jason was 15 when he died on April 27. However, Jay dying in April and Tim being 13 when his training starts a few months later (implied to be late summer/early fall, in Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying; age 13 confirmed again in Batman #448) and then December and more than 6 months passing before Tim is finally said to be 14 starting high school (Robin II: Joker’s Wild), and then having to stuff Tim’s Robin training, Knightfall, Contagion, Legacy, and Aftershocks into all being while he’s 14…all make it mathematically unreasonable for Tim & Jason to be anything other than 14 and 12 when Jason dies. Tim must turn 13 after Jason’s death, right before he’s introduced, so that he has time to become Robin etc. before he turns 14. Jason being 15 really doesn't work well when comparing to other comics, so I think it makes more sense to say they for some reason rounded up his age to 15 since he would have been turning 15 in a few months. With this timeline, Jason would be roughly 14 years, 8 months, and 11 days old when he died. There IS a comic (Batman #416) that implies Jason was Robin for longer than this would require, but the timeline for that makes my head hurt and it was contradicted by Nightwing: Year One anyway. There’s also the case of Dick’s age compared to them, which bitimdrake has already gone into depth about and also makes it less likely Jason was 15 since Dick was 19 when he became Nightwing (Batman #416) and at most 21 after Tim already became Robin (Deathstroke Annual 1, 1992). TL;DR: Jason could, theoretically, have been 15 when he died, but it makes the timeline so wonky to do that and 14 almost 15 works way better.

My personal headcanon is Jason drops out of 5th grade at age 10, probably due to homelife issues. Catherine Todd gets sick, and a year or more passes of Jason not being in school while she’s sick. It’s not entirely clear when Jason becomes homeless, though Batman #426 says he “disappeared” (according to his old neighbor) after his mom died to avoid getting put in a state home. Catherine dies in the closest February to when Dick quits being Robin/gets fired at age 19. Then Jason gets adopted at age 12, turns 13, and goes into 6th grade right after. This would match up perfectly for Jason to be in 7th grade by the time he’s 14, rather than 9th grade like most other 14 year olds.

(Which, at that point, especially when Jason had such good grades, why not let him skip to be in his own age group? idk, maybe Bruce or Jason or Alfred had particular thoughts about Jason continuing where he left off, maybe Gotham schools have particular feelings about that, who knows)

I do want to note, I think it is very unlikely Tim and Jason attended the same school in pre-Crisis canon. Jason’s school for 7th grade wasn’t specified, though in Batman and Robin Vol. 1 #25 he says he went to Thomas Wayne Middle School for 3 months (why only 3 months??? eerily that is the same amount of time between a spring semester starting & Jason’s April deathdate...an implication Jason switched schools or was homeschooled at Wayne Manor for a bit??).

EDIT: I've recently looked it up and realized some schools in the US do include 5th grade as middle school. So if Jason dropped out of 5th grade, at Thomas Wayne Middle School, three months after starting there, that could be an explanation for why he said that.

It seems like (but not totally sure) Jason probably went to public school, which would match up with Robin: Year One showing Dick go to a public middle school, too.

On the other hand, we know for sure that Tim attended various private boarding schools throughout his childhood (as stated in Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying, Robin III: Cry of the Huntress, etc.) so I just really don’t think they were at the same schools. If you wanted to, though, you could easily make them go to the same schools in fanfic so they could be in the same classes.

[lesbianspeedy]

Sorry if this is a bad question or more likely just hopeless. I’ve been trying to find a good Connor Hawke comic to read (first found out about him in Damian’s Robin solo and he and Rose were the only two things I liked besides the Robin chase but I’m a bat brat) and I’ve only read the Silver Monkey story and as I’m not a fan of Oliver Green at all (my exposure to him has in no way been positive) and I HATE Dixon and I know he’s the main writer for Connor, but I had to drop the Tim solo because of his obvious, I guess bigotry would be the right word to use here, but he is one of the three writers I refuse to let myself read anymore to try and keep my blood pressure low. Are there any Connor stories or series that exist outside of those parameters to read because I’m having 0 luck. I’m also not sure if you’re a fan of Mia or Emilio or have any go-to stories for them, but I know nothing about them and I’d like to change that if at all possible.

i understand, i do i do. while i think dixon is capable of good character writing, and he did manage to do it in connor's run, i also understand his very very obvious politics shine through all the time and it gets tiresome (at one point in his ga run he manages to write OLIVER QUEEN "both sides"ing literal nazis that he and hal fought in GL/GA). here's the best i can do for recs outside of dixon (though few and far between)

Before i start, i do wanna clarify that his character in robin is. well. pretty different from his actual pre-established character. I'm not saying you won't like him, and im genuinely begging you to give him a shot, but if youre looking for the snarky brawler type, you might be a lil thrown by the polite buddhist monk you're gonna get.

you are in luck, as his first few appearances were by kelley puckett, so if you havent already read GA vol. 2 #0, do that first! #91 and #92 are also by puckett until dixon takes over for #93, so read those if you dont mind just stopping in the middle of an arc, otherwise avoid.

now this next rec IS 1/3 written by dixon but if you can get through it, the crossover connor has with wally and kyle is enjoyable, thats Green Lantern Vol. 3 #96, GA Vol. 2 #130, and The Flash Vol. 2 #135

Connor's JLA run! JLA Vol. 1 #8-#15, #8 and #9 are specifically about connor saving and joining the league, the rest of the issues just feature him in a team setting, as, well, its the league.

if you want to read mia as well, read Green Arrow: Quiver (GA Vol. 3 #1-#10), Connor plays an important role but its almost entirely in the very last issue, and it's more about Ollie's role dynamic with him than anything else, so just read that if it tickles your fancy.

I wish i could recommend more of GA Vol. 3 for connor, unfortunately he's pretty fucking sidelined, and for every good moment theres 2 bad ones. (immediately after quiver he is shot and put in a coma for an arc, somehow this isnt the last time this happens.) Though i do recommend #11, and i think #21 is a good issue to read for ollie and him, but it also includes a pretty huge retcon to Connor and Ollie's past

Other than those, he has One-shots in Green Arrow 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular: "One", DC Pride 2022: "Think Of Me", and DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration: "Hawke & Kong"

to answer your second question, my URL aint lesbianspeedy for nothin! Mia is what i breathe and bleed, my recs for her are here!

as for Emi, your best bets are Green Arrow Vol. 5 #18-#20, #22, #28-#34 for her origin (though read N52 green arrow at your own risk, even i havent properly read these), Green Arrow Vol. 6 #1-#7 (this may feel like a completely new character, i'm sorry, dc has a angsty characterisation problem, if you enjoy either of these characterisations, i'd recommend you keep reading said runs past my specific recs for more issues with her!) and Stargirl Spring Break Special + Stargirl: The Lost Children #1-#6

[cuephrase]

2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 29, 30 for comics

coming from this ask game

2. The most recent comic you got

The Boy Wonder #4

picked it up this wednesday at my LCS, (along with batman #151 and absolute power #2), i have seriously enjoyed this black label mini sm so far and this issue made me so soft and melty inside fr

5. The oldest comic you have

New Teen Titans Annual #1

this came out august 19, 1982, so it's...like ten days away from being 42 years old? neat!!

6. The comic you were most excited to find

Nightwing (2011) #15

so this a screenshot bc i actually got this as a gift for my brother-in-law!!

mini story time: when i decided i wanted to start reading bat comics, i went to him and asked where to start for nightwing and he loaned me his collection of n52 nightwing with great excitement lmao. (he started reading nightwing midway through this run releasing- it's what got him into nightwing- no judging allowed!!) this was the first series he started collecting/one of the two he kept when he sold most of his collection to pay for his honeymoon.

he didn't have the whole run though, (which omg we talked about pricing and it is wild how much the value of a comic book fluctuates), so i decided to get the handful of issues he was missing for him as a birthday gift. this was really easy except for this issue bc it has two covers. this one, and a joker version. i passionately hate the joker cover but it was the only one i could find- in person or online, so i almost gave up. being patient paid off, though, and i was able to get him the cover i wanted!! very exciting. plus!! he was so stoked when he saw the cover bc, as it turns out, he also hated the joker cover, which is why he didn't own the issue

7. The comic you searched for the longest

Red Robin #25

i started collecting red robin on oct 15, and i got this issue (the last one i needed), on feb 20, so it took a little over four months. i usually have pretty great luck at finding what i'm looking for the day i go looking for it lol, so this was super satisfying to bring home for a variety of reasons

9. The longest comic/collected edition you have

New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. #1, Robin 80th Anniversary: 100-Page Super Spectacular

i'm pretty sure the ntt omni is bigger than any of the saga omnis i have, but i will confess i did not check page count. fun fact tho, i got this signed by marv wolfman. got to chat with him for a bit about tim, nightwing, and getting into the industry which was super neat.

and then the robin 80th is the longest single i own. i think? again, did not check page count but i can't think of anything longer. i don't think b:ul or wf3 are longer?

29. The comic you're currently reading...

...(or want to re-read soon)

Superboy (1994) #1, Robin (1993) #1, Young Justice (1998) #1

i just started reading superboy today!! i've been looking forward to reading him for awhile and finally made it to him, woo!! enjoying it so far too :)

and then i'm just kinda constantly in a state of wanting to re-read robin and yj98 lmao. idk if it'll happen 'soon', idk why but i get super squirrelly about re-reading when i have other stuff on my tbr 😅. i don't have that many titles left on my tbr so. i'll either finish my tbr or break somewhere and re-read. i honestly don't know lmao

30. Dealer's choice: a random comic!

Nightwing (2016) #87

i got this bad boy for free because i made the vendor laugh 😎 (disclaimer, ship who you want, i'm not judging or looking for a fight, okay? okay cool.)

i was at the Collectibles Warehouse (generic made-up name) with my dad for the first time, super fun, and he was helping me look/asking questions as we went. the vendor saw me looking through his nightwing stuff and started telling me about an issue of batgirl (babs) he had just sold, the first time they kissed i think? first something for dickbabs.

dad: "oh first kiss, that's pretty cool, do you want to see that one?"

me: "no, i'm okay"

dad: "i thought you liked him with the redhead??"

me, laughing: "i do, but the redhead i like is starfire"

dad: "he's been with multiple redheads?!"

me, dying laughing: "yes"

dad (stage whisper): "so you don't ship him with her...are they a bad couple?"

me: "...i just prefer him with starfire"

vendor, apparently eavesdropping, burst out laughing: "i had no idea young people still shipped those two! dc's been pushing dickbabs so hard, i thought all the kids liked them. man i love when he's with starfire. you want that comic?" (i was holding the comic, about to show my dad bc, yk, pretty cover) "for you, that one's free"

me: "are you sure?!" (this was a more expensive one- not like Expensive, just above retail)

vendor: "oh yeah, you just made my whole day"

never think i'll experience that again, very entertaining series of events.

bonus: dad's reaction to the cover

dad: "oh my. his pants are very...shiny. look at his thighs! he has very nice thighs, wow"

me: "dude, ikr!!"

tysm for the ask, anon!! i hope you enjoyed the answers :)

[kudosmyhero]

Detective Comics (vol. 1) #484: Assault on Olympus!

Read Date: July 15, 2023 Cover Date: July 1979 ● Writer: Dennis O'Neil ● Penciler: Don Newton ● Inker: Dan Adkins ● Colorist: Adrienne Roy ● Letterer: Gaspar Saladino ● Editor: Julius Schwartz ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● this is a triple-length issue

● 👏👏👏

Synopsis: When a searchlight mocking the Bat-Signal appears in the dark sky of Gotham City, Batman goes to the source of the light and finds that it is being projected on a metallic tower. As he approaches the place with the Batmobile, the tower activates an electric charge towards the vehicle, causing a big explosion. Although Batman manages to get out unscathed, a couple of kids that are nearby were injured. After making sure that the kids are fine, Batman deduces the identity of the man behind the vicious attack.

At that moment on the Olympus building in the middle of Gotham, Maxie Zeus is informed about the failure of his trap for Batman. Zeus continues on his delusion that he is the embodiment of the Greek Mythological God, Zeus, but despite his crazy ideas, his henchmen stick with him because of Zeus' intellect and mind for business. After learning that Batman survived the attack, Zeus reinforces his defences by placing several henchmen on his building.

Moments later, Batman goes to the Wayne Foundation to pick up a Bat-Glider that will help him reach Zeus' building unnoticed. True to his plans, Batman gets to surprise the thugs located on the rooftop thanks to his stealth. Batman decides to avoid some of Zeus' henchmen by breaking by the side of the building, knocking a couple of his henchmen. As he walks into a big room, Batman falls into a trap, where the roof slowly comes down on him, giant rotating blades block the back exit and three wolves come from the front, where Maxie Zeus stands watching as Batman struggles to find a way out of the trap.

Zeus explains that the wolves would attack Batman once the roof hits the floor, leaving him enough time to escape. Batman manages to tilt the roof to one side and uses it as a shield and plank, forcing the wolves to run directly into the blades, killing the animals and breaking the blades. After he crawls out of the collapsed roof, Batman takes a moment to recover his strength before confronting and defeating the last of Zeus' henchmen, a young archer by the alias of Odysseus.

Knowing that he had depleted his energy and that he wouldn't reach Zeus in time, Batman uses one of the radios in the building to contact Zeus' private vehicle. Maxie Zeus is about to board a ship towards Europe when he listens Batman's message. The Dark Knights taunts Zeus to the point where Zeus decides to go back and confront Batman, just to prove the vigilante wrong. Minutes later, Batman captures Zeus and his thug, clearly admiring the pride in the criminal's mind, which Zeus finds as the most fitting compliment for a god like himself.

(https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Detective_Comics_Vol_1_484)

Fan Art: Batman-Robin by JPRart

Accompanying Podcast: ● Overlooked Dark Knight - episode 13

[desperatecheesecubes]

How many comics have I read so far this year:

246 plus an additional 10 if you count partial issues that are collected and another 10 if you count graphic novels.

Here’s the receipts in alphabetical order if you’re curious lmfao (or want to check my math)

Comics read this year

Action comics (1986) 698-700 +Last Son of Kyrpton collected (844-846, 851, 866-870, annual 11)

Action comics (2016) 1058-1066, 2023 annual 1, +metropolis burning and House of Kent collecteds (1017-1028)

Adventures of Superman (1986) 511-513

Adventures of Jon Kent 5-6

Batman (1940) 443

Batman the cult 1-4

Birds of prey Progeny collected (92-103)

Birds of prey (2023) 3-10

The boy wonder (2024) 1

Damage (1994) 1-5, 7-8

The flaszh (2023) 10

Green arrow (2023) 5-13

Green Lantern (2023) 7-12

Hal Jordan and the green lantern corps vol 6-7 (37-50)

Helen of Wyndhorn (2024) 1-3

Infinity inc vol 1 (issues 1-4 + all star squadron 25-26 and annual 2) additionally issues 5-18

Jay Garrick the flash (2023) 1-6

JSA by Geoff Johns vol 1 (1-15, secret files 1)

Justice League of America (1960) 4

Justice society of America the demise of Justice (1-8 + stories from advecomucs 466 and all star comics 57)

New Superman vol 2 (7-12)

The new teen titans (1984) 0

Nightwing (2016) 109-110

Power girl (2023) 8-10

Return of Superman 30th anniversary

Sinister sons (2024) 4

Spider-Gwen smash 3-4

Spirit world (2023) 1-6

Speed force (2023) 1-2

Steel (1994) 5

Superboy (1994) 4-5

Superboy the boy of steel collected (collects Kon’s stories from Adventure comics 2009 from issues 0-3, 5-6 and a portion if Superman secret files 2009)

Supergirl (1994) 1-4

Supergirl (1996) 71

Superman (1986) 89-90, 662, 668

Superman (2016) 37

Superman (2023) 7-15

Superman house of brainiac special

Superman lost 8-10

Superman the man of steel (1991) 33-34

Teen titans (2016) 43

Titans (2023) 5-10

Titans beast world tour (whole event -Atlantis) 1-6 + Waller rising 1 + world tour (metropolis, star city, central city, Gotham) [titans beast World evolution contains two fully reprinted issues Teen Titans 1966 #6, tales of the new teen titans (1986) #3

Young Justice by BMB (1-20)

GN

The marble queen by Anna Kopp

The Fox maidens by Robin ha

Transitions by Élodie Durand

Basil and Oregano by Melissa Capriglione

Long Walk to Valhalla by Adam Smith

Pixels of You by Ananth Hirsh

Grand slam romance: major league hotties by Ollie Hicks

Barda by Ngozi Ukazu

Mister miracle the great escape by varian Johnson

[heroesriseandfall]

His death certificate in Batman Files:

There’s also this marking his height as 4’6” in December 1987 (a year before they killed him off). I’d guess this is probably where the Batman Files writers got the height for the certificate:

Who’s Who Update 1987 #5 / republished in Batman: The Caped Crusader Vol. 1

To make things more conflicting, this personal data from after he died claims his height was 5’0” (I’m not sure when this was originally published):

(Re?)-published in Batman: The Caped Crusader Vol. 2

Of course, this is the time you mentioned where his height was 5’4” right as he died. This is the most concurrent to the comics where he actually died so it’s what I normally use:

The New Titans #55 (June 1989) — Dick learns Jason is dead

The way I personally manage these conflicts is to use the 5’4” height, then interpret 5’0” as actually being from mid-way through his Robin-ing, and the 4’6” as early on in his Robin-ing. The 4’6” personal data was actually the reintroduction from when they modernized his origins, so it can plausibly be his height for the beginning of his Robin days.

I dismiss most of the death certificate because it was published so much later and conflicts the most with everything else (it claiming he was 15 is also a continuity issue when we consider his age in relation to other characters at the time). But ultimately it’s up to you how you want to handle DC’s inconsistencies.

Where do people get that Jason was 4'6 when he died? Cause I've seen the panel where Dick finds out he died and it lists Jason's height as 5'4.

[ectonurites]

hey this is kind of a weird, random request but I was wondering if you know of any comic panels where a batkid or superfam member was bridal carrying another hero or a civilian? my irl friend who's just getting into DC asked me and I realized I was woefully unprepared for such an inquiry

(I'm asking you because 1) this likely isn't the weirdest thing you've gotten in your inbox and 2) you just seem to have an encyclopedic knowledge of dc comics just Sitting in your brain lmao)

LMAO okay so this sort of thing is pretty common tbh, especially with Supers just because they can fly (with Bats I think a proper bridal carry is a bit less common just because if they’re swinging around they need at least one free arm for a grapple, but it still happens plenty).

And since you came to me these are all Kon or Tim examples that came to mind LMAO just from relooking at the early issues of their solos + YJ

(Superboy Vol. 4 #6)

(Superboy Vol. 4 #12)

(Superboy Vol. 4 #15)

(Superboy Vol. 4 #19)

(Young Justice (1998) #5)

(Young Justice (1998) #10)

(Young Justice (1998) #16)

(Cover of Robin (1993) #16)

there’s absolutely a ton more that aren’t just in the 90’s too, again this sort of thing happens relatively frequently

[hood-ex]

Do you have any favorite issues that 'scream' brotherly relationship of the batkids?

Mostly Jason,Dick,Tim and Damian acting as brothers for real

I do indeed but only ones that include Dick and ___. If you want issues with batkid interactions without Dick then you’ll prob have to ask around other blogs. Also, most of these are just one scene and not the whole issue.

I’m gonna start off with Dick and Timberland because they really do have a lot of great scenes together. 

Dick and Tim playing tag: Gotham Knights #8

Dick and Tim fucking around in the sewers: Robin #67

Tim struggling with his mental health and calling Dick to talk: Robin #156

Dick and Tim fighting a gorilla and eating: Trinity #10

Dickbats and Robin!Tim living together and fighting crime: Batman #512-513

Dick and Tim fighting about Tim using the Lazarus Pit: Nightwing #139

Dick and Tim stealing Bruce’s jet to go on a mission: Nightwing #142

Dick and Tim going train surfing in Bludhaven: Nightwing #25

Dick training Tim to be Robin: The New Titans #65

Dick talking to Tim about Tim’s problems: Young Justice #22

Dick saving Tim from falling off a building: Red Robin #12

We’ll go with Dick and Damian next because I said so. 

Dick and Damian going to the arcade: Rebirth Nightwing #1

Dick going to Japan to save Damian: Rebirth Nightwing #42

Dick, Damian, and Roy teaming up in Gotham: Rebirth Nightwing #43

Dick comforting and joking with Damian: Rebirth Batman #33-35

Dick and Damian bantering: Superman/Batman #77

Dick and Damian saving each other’s lives: Batman Incorporated #8 (Damian’s death issue)

Dick and Damian reuniting after their deaths: Grayson #12

Next up: Dick and Jason

Dick giving Jason his number and Robin costume: Batman #416

Jason helping the Titans save Dick and Raven: The New Teen Titans Vol. 2 #31

Dick calling Jason “Little Wing”: Nightwing #106

Dick learning about Jason’s death and going to his grave: The New Titans #55

Dick and Jason throwing hands: Outsiders #44

Dick helping Jason and the Outlaws: Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #1

Dick and Jason having a “man-chat” on a stakeout: Rebirth Nightwing #15

Lastly, Batbros altogether. 

Taking a family portrait and Damian trying to prove he’s the best Robin: N52 Batman and Robin #10

Dick, Jason, Damian, and Duke in a Batburger: Batman #16

Batfam having a meeting: Detective Comics #975

[thequiver]

Who is Connor Hawke? - A Reading Guide

Connor Hawke is the son of Oliver Queen and Sandra "Moonday" Hawke. He is best known for his role as the Green Arrow, taking on the mantle upon his father's death and continuing as the Green Arrow after his resurrection. Connor was raised by his mother, and struggled in school due to being bullied for being mixed race (his mother is Black and Korean and his father is white). At around age thirteen Connor was able to talk his mother into letting him move to a Buddhist Ashram that his father had once stayed at, and there Connor entered the care of Master Jansen, learned martial arts and archery, and became a Buddhist monk. It was at the Ashram that Connor decided to continue the Green Arrow legacy. While serving as the Green Arrow, Connor teamed up with the Green Lantern Kyle Rayner and the Flash Wally West, Robin Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain, and the Justice League.

While Connor is most known for his connection to the Arrow family, as this was what was focused on most heavily in Green Arrow Vol. 3- it is important to remember Connor has strong connections outside of the family as highlighted in Green Arrow Vol. 2! These characters include: Sandra "Moonday" Hawke, Nathan Hawke (Connor's "Gran"), Mastern Jansen, Eddie Fyers, Kyle Rayner, Wally West (and his wife Linda), Tim Drake, and Cassandra Cain!

As of June 2022, Connor has been confirmed as asexual, which solidifies his ace coding from both Green Arrow Vol. 2 and 3!

Reading list with RCO links under the cut!

Only three comics will be listed after the N52 because they are the only three that give us anything resembling an in character Connor Hawke- I will not now nor ever include Robin (2021) on this list.

The following is a chronological list of Connor's appearances:

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #0

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #91-105

Robin Vol. 2 #25

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #106-109

Showcase '96 #5

Green Lantern Vol. 3 #76

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #110

Green Lantern Vol. 3 #77

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #111-124

JLA #5, 8-12

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #125-129

Green Lantern Vol. 3 #96

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #130

Flash Vol. 2 #135

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #131-134

Detective Comics #723

Robin Vol. 2 #55

Nightwing Vol. 2 #23

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #135-136

Green Lantern Vol. 3 #104

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #137

Green Arrow Vol. 2 #1,000,000

Robin Vol. 2 #78-79

Green Arrow Vol. 3 #1, 8-11, 13-15, 21

Green Lantern Vol. 3 #162

Green Arrow Vol. 3 #24-25

Green Lantern Vol. 3 #164

Green Arrow Vol. 3 #27-32, 34-50, 52, 56-59, 66-68

Connor Hawke: Dragon's Blood #1-6

Green Arrow Vol. 3 #73-75

Green Arrow/Black Canary #1-7, 13-15

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration

Green Arrow 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular

DC: Pride (2022)

The following issues have an unclear place in Connor's chronology and are presented here in chronological order by publication date:

JLA: Paradise Lost #2-3

Adventure Comics 80-Page Giant #1/2

JLA/Titans #2-3

Green Lantern Vol. 3 #110, 117

JLA #38, 40

Batgirl #30-32

Birds of Prey #43-46

Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #3

Identity Crisis #1, 6

Flash Vol. 2 #216

Richard Dragon #8-12

[bitimdrake]

Does Tim actually hate Damian? And how does he feel about Jason? Is he really on super besties terms with Cass?

With three different relationships here, there’s a fair bit to cover, so most of this will be under the cut! Since each of these relationships are fairly easy to digest in post-Crisis, I've also included lists of issues with all their major interactions ✨

Tim & Damian 

Batman #657-658 (part of “Batman and Son”)

“Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul”

Battle for the Cowl #3 (very briefly towards the end)

Red Robin #1 (flashback)

Blackest Night: Batman #3 (briefly towards the beginning)

Red Robin #11-12

Red Robin #13-15

Red Robin #20, Teen Titans vol 3 #92

Batman: Gates of Gotham

tl;dr: “Hate” is a strong word, but it’s not friendly

Tim and Damian definitely don’t like each other, and that’s pretty consistent. The very first time they met, Damian tried to murder Tim. He was a brainwashed 10-year-old who genuinely thought he was doing the correct/expected thing, but (along with Damian’s generally rude demeanor and the bad blood over Robin) you can probably see why Tim wouldn’t be the kid’s biggest fan. Their dislike of each other the next time they meet is clear, with a lot of low blows on either side:

[two panels from Robin #168. Damian: “You’re just trying to keep [Bruce] all to yourself! Can’t stand the fact that he’s my father! Something you don’t have!” / Tim narrates “Don’t let him under your skin,” and then says, “At least my father wasn’t ashamed of me.”]

Damian isn’t Robin yet here, despite trying to wear the costume, but Tim certainly doesn’t like him any better when that switch happens. I’d argue that he has a much less active dislike of Damian by the time he returns to Gotham as Red Robin, but he’s still very uncomplimentary towards the kid in his narration and doesn’t trust him.

As for Damian’s side, the idea that he always had it out for Tim and was making constant murder attempts is an exaggeration. The first time Damian tried to kill Tim was purely a bid for the Robin title with League-approved “murder the competition” methods. The second, however, was a more personally-charged (and insecure) attempt when he found himself on Tim’s secret second “hit list”--a Batman-esque list of heroes Tim wanted to be prepared to take out if they went bad. Though it manifests as anger, Damian is definitely hurt by the distrust too. (see: Red Robin #14)

Afaik, we never see any narration from Damian about Tim, so it’s hard to be certain of his feelings once Tim is out of the way as Robin. It’s worth noting that Damian acts very rude and abrasive in general, so I think you could argue both that he treats Tim like he treats pretty every else, or that he specifically dislikes Tim.

[panel from Red Robin #1. Damian: “Don’t be so sensitive, Drake.” / Dick: “Damian, shut up. Now.” / Damian: “Sorry, Drake. You’re still part of the team--maybe the Batgirl costume is available!”]

All that being said, they do work together a few times with significant bickering but no violence (e.g. Red Robin #13 or Gates of Gotham), so I think there’s hope for them yet.

[panel from Gates of Gotham #4. Damian helps hold an injured Tim up.]

Tim & Jason

Batman #617-618 (part of “Batman: Hush”)

Teen Titans vol 3 #29

Teen Titans vol 3 #47

Robin #177, #182

Robin #183

Batman: Battle for the Cowl #2-3

So the thing about Tim and Jason is that we’re dealing with two very different continuities here--before and after Flashpoint--and most people forget the first in favor of the second.

After Flashpoint rebooted the DC universe into the New 52 in 2011, Tim and Jason suddenly started acting like the closest of brothers (which I would guess has everything to do with the same writer, Lobdell, having domain over both of them). I'm not going to talk much about this version (because I haven't read most of it yet, new 52 Tim sucks, and I think people are pretty familiar with the idea already), but afaik this carried through in more recent reboots like Rebirth. It's the relationship most people think of for them.

But it came out of nowhere. In the Post-Crisis continuity (i.e. pre-new 52; before 2011; the timeline with Under the Hood, Jason attacking Tim, and such classic events)...

tl;dr: pre-Flashpoint, Tim thinks Jason ain’t shit

Before Jason’s resurrection, that was different. Tim’s respect for the Robin mantle and DC’s determination to insist that Jason was irresponsible (and therefore it’s okay for Batman to have other child sidekicks) gave Tim a messy view of Jason. Sometimes he lumped Jason in with Dick--who Tim fully idolized--and sometimes he was insistent about being better than Jason in a kinda disparaging way.

The end result lands somewhere around “cautionary tale.” I know a lot of people are upset about anything related to the portrayal of Robin!Jason as reckless, but I think in this case it makes for a really interesting mix of feelings from Tim about a boy he never personally met--an image he's reconstructed solely based on how others talk about him.

Of course, then Jason came back, killed a bunch of people, made himself a crime lord, and attacked Tim. At which point, Tim had zero sympathy for the guy who was actively trying to hurt (kill?) him.

[panels from Teen Titans vol 3 #29. Tim and Jason fight. Tim: "I had to convince Batman to let me try this. All because he'll never stop blaming himself for what happened to you. You ask me, that's the only reason he hasn't taken you down. He's holding back. But me? No freakin' way." He wacks Jason with his staff.]

(I will also point out here that, by this point, Tim has been Robin for three years and is fully confident in the role; it’s been a long time since he was a kid nervous about living up to the legacy. When he asks Jason earlier in the scene if he wants to be Robin again, it’s distinctly not an offer--Tim has no intention of giving that up--but just sussing out his motives. Jason wants to know if Tim is good enough, and Tim is fully like “yeah I fucking am, loser.”)

Tim and Jason run into each other only a couple times after this, with mixed results. Tim gets some joy out of kicking Jason in the balls in revenge in Teen Titans #47. Then they have their most pleasant interaction towards the end of Tim’s Robin series, where Jason is attempting to take over Gotham’s gangs For The Greater Good, and seems genuinely interested in working with Tim.

[panels from Robin #177. Tim asks, “Did you steal money from the Penguin?” Jason says, “No. But that’s not a bad idea. Good way to finance our plan.” Tim: “Not my plan, Jason. And I can’t let it be yours, either...” Jason: “Figures. I was hoping you...okay... Whatever. It is what it is--”]

Towards the end of the storyline, Tim thinks Jason had a point about the issues he was seeing in Gotham, if not his methods; and also thinks Bruce would have wanted to give Jason a second chance, and breaks him out of jail. In the next issue, he lets Jason into the cave to see the video will Bruce left him. This is pretty much the only time either one is nice to the other--and even in this storyline, it’s clear from Tim’s narration he doesn’t think much of “Jan Brady of the Bat-Family” (direct quote lmao) Jason.

Tim breaking Jason out turns out to be a terrible idea, and they meet for what I’m pretty sure is the last time post-Crisis in Battle for the Cowl, where Jason nearly murders him again. This has that famous “be my Robin,” line, but contrary to popular belief, Jason isn’t actually that interested in working with Tim at this point--he’s using it more as a threat--and Tim has no interest or sympathy for his cause.

[panels from Battle for the Cowl #2. Jason creeps around, slashing at Tim with a batarang. “You have one chance to save yourself, Tim.” Tim: “Then face me, coward.” Jason hits him and says, “Join me. Be my Robin.” Tim: “Join you? A psychopathic killer? Sure, why not?” Jason continues slashing bloody cuts into him, saying, “You find this humorous? I’m deadly serious.”]

Tim refuses, Jason stabs him and leaves him for dead, and they end post-Crisis with no affection for each other. So, you know, not the closest relationship.

(And then a new continuity declared them each other’s favorite brother.)

Tim & Cass

Note: Post-Crisis, Cass was around much longer than Damian or resurrected!Jason, and therefore she and Tim had a lot more interactions. Unlike the previous lists, this is not an exhaustive list of their every interaction, particularly in the early parts.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #120 (first meeting)

Robin #73

Batgirl #18

Robin #119

Batgirl/Robin “Fresh Blood" (first real bonding)

Batman Allies Secret Files and Origins, 2005

Robin vol 2 #148-151, Teen Titans vol 3 #43-46 (part of the Evil Cass arc, which is very terrible, but I mention it below so I’ll put it here)

Batgirl vol 2 #1, #5-#6 (mediocre all around, and terrible to Dick, but Tim and Cass have some sweet bits?)

Batman and the Outsiders vol 2 #12 (briefly at the end)

Red Robin #17

Red Robin #25

Batman: Gates of Gotham

tl;dr: They are close, but it took a while for them to reach that bond

Tim and Cass had no strong relationship at first. Their stories in Robin and Batgirl were largely separate, and Tim actually found Cass to be very creepy. But when he realized he was being silly, they agreed to be friends.

[a page from Batgirl #18. Tim says: “I’ve, uh...I’ve been avoiding you. It’s...your background. The assassin training all that.” / Cass: “Oh. Yeah.” / Tim: “It’s just...my childhood’s so normal. I mean, Batman and Nightwing had some rough stuff to deal with growing up, but...but you--you were raised to be that guy down there, and you turned yourself into one of us. That’s...pretty intimidating. But I shouldn’t have let it affect the way I treat you...and I apologize. Friends?” / Cass: “Friends.”]

Still, they were largely distant all the way up until Stephanie’s death. Cass and Tim were the pair most affected by far, and in the wake of the War Games shake up, they both moved to Blüdhaven (which Nightwing had left) where they really bonded. They worked together in the field, Cass broke into Tim’s place to use his shower and steal his snacks, and sometimes they’d have quieter moments and deeper conversation. (see: the Robin/Batgirl “Fresh Blood” crossover.)

Not long after, Cass left Gotham to find her mom. And then after that, Tim (and Dick and Bruce) left Gotham to recapture the spirit of Batman. And then Cass left Gotham again and returned brainwashed and evil. (This is a terrible storyline, but evil Cass did want Tim to join her and later he helped her de-brainwash, so I guess that’s something?) Then they were finally both in Gotham again (and both adopted now!), but DC editorial was trying to push Cass out and barely let her interact with anyone at all.

Finally, Cass left Gotham once again (see: editorial trying to erase her) and moved to offscreen Hong Kong. She made two guest appearances in Red Robin where it is clear that the pair like and respect each other, and it also turns out that Tim was the only one to keep contact with Cass after she left Gotham--though, once again: editorial vendetta stopping anyone else from interacting with her. They help each other out with cases. He tries to convince her to come back to Gotham, be Batgirl again, and remember she has family. She saves him and goes along with his plans, with complete trust on both sides. (see: Red Robin #17, #25, and Gates of Gotham.)

It’s not a relationship that gets a whole lot of appearances, because Cass really wasn’t given the attention she was due, but it’s a very solid one whenever it does appear.

[filthy-vigilantes]

Batman: Where to start

***long post***

Getting in to comics is rather hard and finding a good starting place or a good recommended must-reads is hard and confusing and you typically get hundreds of different answers.

This is my personal list, that I'm working through and hope to collect. I've done quite a bit of research and feel like this is a adequate reading list for modern (post-crisis) Bruce Wayne

Anyways here's the list in primary chronological order:

Batman: Year One (Batman Vol 1 #404-#407)

This story line established the back story for Batman in the post-crisis timeline, along with the back stories for Commissioner Gordon and Selina Kyle. Not necessarily canon anymore, but a good story to get the feel of the characters

Batman: The Man Who Laughs

This is a one shot that was published in 2005 that tells the story of Batman's first encounter with the Joker roughly a year after the Batman's debut in Gotham. Based on the Joker's original first appearance in Batman Vol 1 #1.

Batman and the Monster Men

This is a 6 part mini series that takes place sometime after Batman: Year One and Batman: The Man Who Laughs. First half of the Dark Moon Rising series. Story revolves around Batman's first dealing with Hugo Strange

Batman and the Mad Monk

This is another 6 part mini series that is the second half of the Dark Moon Rising series. It is a retelling of a story from Detective Comics Vol 1 #31-32

Batman: The Long Halloween

This is a 13 part limited series, that serves as a re-introduction of the Calendar Man and features a wide array of Batman's rouge gallery such as Two-Face, Scarecrow, Riddler, Joker, and Poison Ivy.

Batman: Dark Victory

This is a 14 part limited series that is a sequel to The Long Halloween. The main case in the story is a turf war between Two-Face and the Falcon Mafia. It also serves as a re-telling of Dick Grayson's Robin origin.

Batman: Birth of the Demon (TPB)

This is a collection of 3 Batman one shots: Son of the Demon, Bride of the Demon, and Birth of the Demon. All stories center around Ra's al Ghul and Talia al Ghul.

Batman: Strange Apparitions (Detective Comics Vol 1 #469-479)

This collection reintroduces Golden Age villains such as Hugo Strange and Dead shot along with introducing new villains such as Doctor Phosphorus and Clayface III.

Batman: The Killing Joke

A 60 page one shot that hints at the Jokers true identity, along with pushing the Jokers madness to new extremes, and showing just how dangerous he can be.

Batman: the Cult

This is a 4 issue mini series, in which Batman gets captured, torture and brain washed by Deacon Blackfire. This is also one of the few stories written by Jim Starlin that shows Jason Todd in a favorable light, as Starlin had a dislike for the character and kid sidekicks.

Batman: Death in the Family (Batman Vol 1 #426-429)

The famous 4 issue story arc that allowed readers to vote on the fate of the then current Robin, Jason Todd.

Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying (Batman Vol 1 #440-442)

This story is the introduction of Tim Drake and his taking of the Robin Mantle. The story also involves a case with Two-Face

Batman: The Last Arkham (Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1-4)

This story shows us the inner workings of Arkham Asylum, along with introducing new villains such as Zsasz, Jeremiah Arkham, and Amygdala

Batman: Gothic (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #6-10)

In this story we get to see glimpses of Bruce Wayne childhood.

Batman: Venom (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #16-20)

This story introduces us to the strength-enhancing drug, venom

Batman: Knightfall (Batman Vol 1 #492-510, #512-515; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #16-30, 32-35; Catwoman Vol ? #6-7, #12-13; Detective Comics Vol 1 #659-677, #679-682; Justice League Task Force #5-6; Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #59-63; Robin #7-9, 11-14; Showcase '93 #7-8; Showcase '94 #10)

The Knightfall collection is a trilogy consisting of Knightfall, Knightquest, and KnightsEnd. In the story, Batman is crippled by Bane leading to him enlisting help from Jean-Paul Valley, while he recovers. Jean-Paul becomes increasingly unstable and violent, ruining Batman's reputation until Bruce can finally put an end to it. The story had long term ramifications in the batcannon as Bruce had to rebuild the trust everyone had for him.

Batman: Contagion (Batman: Shadow of the Bat #48-49; Detective Comics Vol 1 #695, #696; Robin Vol 4 #27-28; Catwoman Vol #31-32; Azrael #15-16; Batman Vol 1 #529; Batman: Chronicles #4)

A cross over even where a deadly virus sweeps through Gotham. One of the story lines leading in to the No Man's Land event.

Batman: Legacy (Batman Vol 1 #533-534; Batman: Bane; Bane of the Demon #1-4; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #53-54; Catwoman Vol 2 #33-36; Detective Comics Vol 1 #700-702; Robin Vol 4 #32-33)

Another crossover, this storyline serves as a wrap up for Contagion as well as Knightfall. One of the story lines leading in to No Man's Land event.

Batman: Cataclysm (Azrael #40; Batman Vol 1 #553-559; The Batman Chronicles #12, #14; Batman: Arkham Asylum- Tales of Madness #1; Batman:Blackgate- Isle of Men #1; Batman/Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma #1; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #73-79; Catwoman Vol 2 #56-57; Detective Comics Vol 1 #719-722, #724-726; Robin Vol 4 #52-54)

The final crossover storyline leading in to No Man's Land. After a earthquake, Gotham's heros have to band together to help the citizens in the aftermath.

Batman: No Man's Land (Azrael #47-61; Batman Vol 1 #560-574; Batman: Harley Quinn; Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #116-126; Batman: No Man's Land #1-0; Batman No Man's Land Secret Files and Origins; Batman: Day of Judgement; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #80-94; The Batman Chronicles #16-18; Catwoman Vol 2 #72-77; Detective Comics Vol 1 #727-741; JLA #32; Nightwing Vol 1 #35-39; Nightwing Secret Files and Origins; Robin Vol 4 #67-73; Young Justice: In No Man's Land)

After several catastrophic events in Gotham, the US government decides to cut off Gotham, destroying all bridges to the city leaving Batman and allies to keep order in the city.

JLA Tower of Babel (JLA #43-46)

This story deals with the discovery of Batman's plans and files on how to take out the members of the Justice League in the event of them going rouge.

Bruce Wayne: Murderer? (Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure #1; Batgirl #24; Batman Vol 1 #599; Batman: Gotham Knights #25-26; Birds of Prey Vol 1 #39-40; Detective Comics Vol 1 #766-767; Nightwing #65-66; Robin #98-99

Bruce Wayne is arrested for murder and the rest of the bat family are forced to solve the crime and help clear his name.

Bruce Wayne: Fugitive (Azrael #91; Batgirl #27, #29-33; Batman Vol 1 #600-601, #603, #605-607; Batman: Gotham Knights #27-28, #30-31; Birds of Prey #41-43; Nightwing #68-69; Detective Comics Vol 1 #768-775)

This story is the follow up to Bruce Wayne: Murderer. After getting out of jail, he must full solve to murder, as those around him begin to doubt his innocence.

Batman Hush (Batman Vol 1 #608-619)

This story arc share a bit about Bruce Wayne's childhood along with introducing a new billion, Hush and furthering Batman and Catwoman's romantic relationship. This story also teases the resurrection of Jason Todd, the second Robin.

Batman: Heart of Hush (Detective Comics #846-850)

A follow up to Batman Hush, once again furthering Batman and Catwoman's romantic relationship. Also serves as a prelude to Batman R. I. P.

Batman Under the Red Hood (Batman Vol 1 #635-#641, #645-650, Annual #25)

This Story focuses on Jason Todd, the second Robin's resurrection and return to Gotham

Batman R. I. P. (Batman Vol 1 #667-669, #672-686, #701-702; Detective Comics #846-853; Nightwing Vol 2 #147-153; Batman and the Outsiders Vol 1 #11-14, special #1; Robin #175-183)

This story leads up to Bruce Wayne's apparent death in the DC Final Crisis event.

What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (Batman Vol 1 #686; Detective Comics Vol 1 #853

These two issues deal with the aftermath of Bruce Wayne's apparent death.

Battle for the Cowl

This is a 3 issue minis series that shows the remainder of the bat family hold Gotham together in the wake of Batman's death and Nightwing ultimate decision to take up the mantle.

Batman: Hush Money (Detective Comics Vol 1 #852; Batman Vol 1 #685; Batman: Streets of Gotham #1-4)

Batman's enemy Hush alters his face to look like Bruce Wayne and begins pretending to be him.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne

A 6 issue limited series that shows Bruce Wayne's journey through time to return to present day Gotham.

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home

A limited series that details the return and aftermath of Bruce Wayne's return. Batman Vol 1 #703 is a prelude to the series.

Batman: House of Hush (Batman: Streets of Gotham #14, #16-21)

A story arc that ties up the Hush Money story and the return of Bruce Wayne.

Batman Incorporated

This series focuses on Bruce Wayne franchising the Batman name across the globe, while Dick Grayson still serves as Batman in Gotham.

Batman: The Gates of Gotham

A limited series that features Dick Grayson as Batman, but was used as a lunching point for major Batman story lines in New 52.

Batman New 52

After the New 52 reboot, DC began Batman Vol 2, aka Batman New 52

Batman Eternal

A weekly limited series that ran for a year, reintroducing numerous villains in to the New 52 canon, along with Stephanie Brown.

Batman and Robin Eternal

A weekly limited series that ran for 6 months as a follow up to Batman Eternal. The story jumps between Dick Grayson's first year as Robin and the present. Cassandra Cain is reintroduced in to the New 52 canon in this series.

Batman Rebirth (ongoing)

Current Batman title

[filthy-vigilante]

Batman: Where to Start

*** long post***

Getting in to comics is rather hard and finding a good starting place or a good recommended must-reads is hard and confusing and you typically get hundreds of different answers.

This is my personal list, that I'm working through and hope to collect. I've done quite a bit of research and feel like this is a adequate reading list for modern (post-crisis) Bruce Wayne

Anyway, here's my list:

Batman: Year One (Batman Vol 1 #404-#407)

This story line established the back story for Batman in the post-crisis timeline, along with the back stories for Commissioner Gordon and Selina Kyle. Not necessarily canon anymore, but a good story to get the feel of the characters

Batman: The Man Who Laughs

This is a one shot that was published in 2005 that tells the story of Batman’s first encounter with the Joker roughly a year after the Batman’s debut in Gotham. Based on the Joker’s original first appearance in Batman Vol 1 #1.

Batman and the Monster Men

This is a 6 part mini series that takes place sometime after Batman: Year One and Batman: The Man Who Laughs. First half of the Dark Moon Rising series. Story revolves around Batman’s first dealing with Hugo Strange

Batman and the Mad Monk

This is another 6 part mini series that is the second half of the Dark Moon Rising series. It is a retelling of a story from Detective Comics Vol 1 #31-32

Batman: The Long Halloween

This is a 13 part limited series, that serves as a re-introduction of the Calendar Man and features a wide array of Batman’s rouge gallery such as Two-Face, Scarecrow, Riddler, Joker, and Poison Ivy.

Batman: Dark Victory

This is a 14 part limited series that is a sequel to The Long Halloween. The main case in the story is a turf war between Two-Face and the Falcon Mafia. It also serves as a re-telling of Dick Grayson’s Robin origin.

Batman: Birth of the Demon (TPB)

This is a collection of 3 Batman one shots: Son of the Demon, Bride of the Demon, and Birth of the Demon. All stories center around Ra’s al Ghul and Talia al Ghul.

Batman: Strange Apparitions (Detective Comics Vol 1 #469-479)

This collection reintroduces Golden Age villains such as Hugo Strange and Dead shot along with introducing new villains such as Doctor Phosphorus and Clayface III.

Batman: The Killing Joke

A 60 page one shot that hints at the Jokers true identity, along with pushing the Jokers madness to new extremes, and showing just how dangerous he can be.

Batman: the Cult

This is a 4 issue mini series, in which Batman gets captured, torture and brain washed by Deacon Blackfire. This is also one of the few stories written by Jim Starlin that shows Jason Todd in a favorable light, as Starlin had a dislike for the character and kid sidekicks.

Batman: Death in the Family (Batman Vol 1 #426-429)

The famous 4 issue story arc that allowed readers to vote on the fate of the then current Robin, Jason Todd.

Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying (Batman Vol 1 #440-442)

This story is the introduction of Tim Drake and his taking of the Robin Mantle. The story also involves a case with Two-Face

Batman: The Last Arkham (Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1-4)

This story shows us the inner workings of Arkham Asylum, along with introducing new villains such as Zsasz, Jeremiah Arkham, and Amygdala

Batman: Gothic (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #6-10)

In this story we get to see glimpses of Bruce Wayne childhood.

Batman: Venom (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #16-20)

This story introduces us to the strength-enhancing drug, venom

Batman: Knightfall (Batman Vol 1 #492-510, #512-515; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #16-30, 32-35; Catwoman Vol ? #6-7, #12-13; Detective Comics Vol 1 #659-677, #679-682; Justice League Task Force #5-6; Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #59-63; Robin #7-9, 11-14; Showcase ‘93 #7-8; Showcase '94 #10)

The Knightfall collection is a trilogy consisting of Knightfall, Knightquest, and KnightsEnd. In the story, Batman is crippled by Bane leading to him enlisting help from Jean-Paul Valley, while he recovers. Jean-Paul becomes increasingly unstable and violent, ruining Batman’s reputation until Bruce can finally put an end to it. The story had long term ramifications in the batcannon as Bruce had to rebuild the trust everyone had for him.

Batman: Contagion (Batman: Shadow of the Bat #48-49; Detective Comics Vol 1 #695, #696; Robin Vol 4 #27-28; Catwoman Vol #31-32; Azrael #15-16; Batman Vol 1 #529; Batman: Chronicles #4)

A cross over even where a deadly virus sweeps through Gotham. One of the story lines leading in to the No Man’s Land event.

Batman: Legacy (Batman Vol 1 #533-534; Batman: Bane; Bane of the Demon #1-4; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #53-54; Catwoman Vol 2 #33-36; Detective Comics Vol 1 #700-702; Robin Vol 4 #32-33)

Another crossover, this storyline serves as a wrap up for Contagion as well as Knightfall. One of the story lines leading in to No Man’s Land event.

Batman: Cataclysm (Azrael #40; Batman Vol 1 #553-559; The Batman Chronicles #12, #14; Batman: Arkham Asylum- Tales of Madness #1; Batman:Blackgate- Isle of Men #1; Batman/Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma #1; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #73-79; Catwoman Vol 2 #56-57; Detective Comics Vol 1 #719-722, #724-726; Robin Vol 4 #52-54)

The final crossover storyline leading in to No Man’s Land. After a earthquake, Gotham’s heros have to band together to help the citizens in the aftermath.

Batman: No Man’s Land (Azrael #47-61; Batman Vol 1 #560-574; Batman: Harley Quinn; Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #116-126; Batman: No Man’s Land #1-0; Batman No Man’s Land Secret Files and Origins; Batman: Day of Judgement; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #80-94; The Batman Chronicles #16-18; Catwoman Vol 2 #72-77; Detective Comics Vol 1 #727-741; JLA #32; Nightwing Vol 1 #35-39; Nightwing Secret Files and Origins; Robin Vol 4 #67-73; Young Justice: In No Man’s Land)

After several catastrophic events in Gotham, the US government decides to cut off Gotham, destroying all bridges to the city leaving Batman and allies to keep order in the city.

JLA Tower of Babel (JLA #43-46)

This story deals with the discovery of Batman’s plans and files on how to take out the members of the Justice League in the event of them going rouge.

Bruce Wayne: Murderer? (Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure #1; Batgirl #24; Batman Vol 1 #599; Batman: Gotham Knights #25-26; Birds of Prey Vol 1 #39-40; Detective Comics Vol 1 #766-767; Nightwing #65-66; Robin #98-99

Bruce Wayne is arrested for murder and the rest of the bat family are forced to solve the crime and help clear his name.

Bruce Wayne: Fugitive (Azrael #91; Batgirl #27, #29-33; Batman Vol 1 #600-601, #603, #605-607; Batman: Gotham Knights #27-28, #30-31; Birds of Prey #41-43; Nightwing #68-69; Detective Comics Vol 1 #768-775)

This story is the follow up to Bruce Wayne: Murderer. After getting out of jail, he must solve the murder, as those around him begin to doubt his innocence.

Batman Hush (Batman Vol 1 #608-619)

This story arc share a bit about Bruce Wayne’s childhood along with introducing a new billion, Hush and furthering Batman and Catwoman’s romantic relationship. This story also teases the resurrection of Jason Todd, the second Robin.

Batman: Heart of Hush (Detective Comics #846-850)

A follow up to Batman Hush, once again furthering Batman and Catwoman’s romantic relationship. Also serves as a prelude to Batman R. I. P.

Batman Under the Red Hood (Batman Vol 1 #635-#641, #645-650, Annual #25)

This Story focuses on Jason Todd, the second Robin’s resurrection and return to Gotham

Batman R. I. P. (Batman Vol 1 #667-669, #672-686, #701-702; Detective Comics #846-853; Nightwing Vol 2 #147-153; Batman and the Outsiders Vol 1 #11-14, special #1; Robin #175-183)

This story leads up to Bruce Wayne’s apparent death in the DC Final Crisis event.

What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (Batman Vol 1 #686; Detective Comics Vol 1 #853

These two issues deal with the aftermath of Bruce Wayne’s apparent death.

Battle for the Cowl

This is a 3 issue minis series that shows the remainder of the bat family hold Gotham together in the wake of Batman’s death and Nightwing ultimate decision to take up the mantle.

Batman: Hush Money (Detective Comics Vol 1 #852; Batman Vol 1 #685; Batman: Streets of Gotham #1-4)

Batman’s enemy Hush alters his face to look like Bruce Wayne and begins pretending to be him.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne

A 6 issue limited series that shows Bruce Wayne’s journey through time to return to present day Gotham.

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home

A limited series that details the return and aftermath of Bruce Wayne’s return. Batman Vol 1 #703 is a prelude to the series.

Batman: House of Hush (Batman: Streets of Gotham #14, #16-21)

A story arc that ties up the Hush Money story and the return of Bruce Wayne.

Batman Incorporated

This series focuses on Bruce Wayne franchising the Batman name across the globe, while Dick Grayson still serves as Batman in Gotham.

Batman: The Gates of Gotham

A limited series that features Dick Grayson as Batman, but was used as a lunching point for major Batman story lines in New 52.

Batman New 52

After the New 52 reboot, DC began Batman Vol 2, aka Batman New 52

Batman Eternal

A weekly limited series that ran for a year, reintroducing numerous villains in to the New 52 canon, along with Stephanie Brown.

Batman and Robin Eternal

A weekly limited series that ran for 6 months as a follow up to Batman Eternal. The story jumps between Dick Grayson’s first year as Robin and the present. Cassandra Cain is reintroduced in to the New 52 canon in this series.

Batman Rebirth (ongoing)

Current Batman title

Previously posted on @filthy-vigilantes